Garment with shoulder strap retaining device



Oct. 1955 J. w. LODENIUS 2,719,303

GARMENT WITH SHOULDER STRAP RETAINING DEVICE Filed Nov. 29, 1952 INVENTOR Jenme Wimmerszedl Lodenius ATTORNEY United States Patent GARMENT WITH SHOULDER STRAP RETAINING DEVICE Jennie Wimmerstedt Lodenius, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application November 29, 1952, Serial No. 323,213

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-105) This invention relates to improvements in garments, and individual components thereof.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved article of wearing apparel in the nature of a blouse, waist, dress and the like, which is provided with integrated novel means for retaining and securing the shoulder straps and similar portions of other garments worn in conjunction therewith or together therewith, against accidental displacement from a desired or normal position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved article of female wearing apparel in the nature of a dress, waist, blouse or the like, which has sheet material overlying the shoulders of the wearer, so that the shoulder straps of undergarments such as brassieres, slips and the like may extend over and across the shoulders of the wearer, below the outer layer of sheet material of the blouse or the like covering the same, and in which novel shoulder strap retaining devices are secured to the undersurface of the said shoulder covering outer sheet material of the blouse, for releasably confining and securing the shoulder straps of the undergarments against displacement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shoulder strap fastening device for use with any article of female attire, such as a dress, blouse, waist, or the like, for maintaining the shoulder straps of underlying garments, such as slips, brassieres, and the like, from displacement off the shoulders of the wearer, the shoulder strap fastening device being constructed for ready and easy attachment to the outer dress or other garment and in such a manner as to be substantially unnoticeable from the outside to the onlooker.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shoulder strap fastening device for use with articles of feminine attire, which is so constructed that it does not add any substantial bulk to the fabric thickness of the garment to which it is to be attached, and thus maintains the original contours of the dress, jacket, blouse or the like, and renders detection of its presence difficult if not impossible on the part of the onlooker, adding to the attractiveness of the ensemble with which it is worn.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shoulder strap confining and fastening device which includes an elongated tapelike device body folded into two major leg portions the outer ends of which are brought into juxtaposition and adapted for being releasably secured together to define therebetween a channel or passageway for the entry therein and there through of one or more shoulder straps of female undergarments, so as to confine the same therein and constrain them against accidental displacement or dislodgment from a predetermined position relative to the shoulders of the wearer, the construction being such that the wearer can easily open and close the device with her fingers, while wearing the garments, with the utmost incomfort and convenience.

2,719,303 Patented Oct. 4, 1955 Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved article and accessory for womens wear, which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, highly effective for its intended purpose, and easy and quickly secured or attached to any garment such as a dress, blouse, waist, jacket or the like, without the need for special tools.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a frontal elevational view showing a portion of the body with both outer and undergarments worn thereon, the view being partly broken out to illustrate the positioning of my novel and improved shoulder strap confining devices in the shoulder portions of the dress illustrated.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale, showing the right hand upper portion of Figure 1, with the shoulder straps sectioned on a vertical plane, and the hand of the wearer employed in opening or closing the shoulder strap retaining device, which is shown in partly opened position.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken substantially on plane 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken on the same viewing plane as Figure 2, but showing the retaining device in closed position, and illustrating the confining thereby of a pair of mutually overlying shoulder straps, instead of the side by side straps shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view taken substantially on plane 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevational view showing a modified form of the invention, the viewing aspect plane being substantially similar to that of Figures 2 and 4, the sectioning being slightly forwardly thereof however, and showing a form of the retaining device in engagement with two shoulder straps, and in partly opened position, this form being insertable through openings formed in the garment or one layer thereof instead of being secured by stitching thereto.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view taken on a plane from below the shoulder part or portion of the dress of Figure 1, showing a modified form of the invention, this being a bottom perspective view looking upwards toward the inner undersurface of the shoulder portion of the dress, the fastening device being shown in partly opened position.

In connection with the manufacture and wearing of articles of female attire, a number of problems are ever present. Thus, the vogue of wearing undergarments such as slips, brassieres and the like, having only shoulder straps to support them on the shoulders of the wearer, has presented the problem of finding that such shoulder straps, being little more than narrow tapes of fabric or the like, and quite long, tend to fall off the shoulders of the wearer, and frequently falling right down to the upper arms of the wearer, with consequent binding, feeling of discomfort, and also, where sheer blouses or waists are worn thereover, giving a very untidy look or appearance. They also become annoyingly visible where she wears sleeveless or short sleeve waists or dresses, even though made of opaque fabric, and she feels quite helpless to,

secure them in proper positions, being constantly confronted with the need for pushing them back upwards inside her dress shoulders, with little hope that they will remain there.

The present invention provides means whereby the troublesome shoulder straps are easily confined to their proper predetermined positions on the shoulders, giving a uniformly attractive appearance, and neatness, yet which are so small and inconspicuous as to be substantially invisible to the onlooker even when sheer blouses or waists are being worn. Further, the invention includes shoulder strap confining devices which are readily attached to the garment, and have a minimum of bulk, thus avoiding any bulging or other interference with the natural contours of the garment itself, and they may be opened and closed, by the wearer herself, even while the garment is being worn, with the fingers, quite conveniently.

In order to understand clearly the nature of the invention, and the best means for carrying it out, reference may now be had to the drawings, in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

As seen, there is a general view in Figure 1, of the body, with certain garments shown worn thereon. Thus, there is the dress or waist 10, with left and right panels or portions 12 and 14, which may be secured together if desired, at the front central portion, at seam 13, by means of buttons 16, or otherwise, and are secured at left and right marginal seams 18 and 20, to corresponding rearward panels or portions of the dress. A slip or petticoat 24 is shown worn underneath the dress or waist 10, a portion of the slip being directly visible above the broken away portion of the dress 10, and it is seen that the slip has a shaped bodice portion to fit snugly or com fortably the bodice portion of the body, and is supported in the position shown, by means of shoulder straps 28a and 281), secured at their ends to the upper marginal portions of the slip, and extending over the shoulders of the wearer.

Similarly, she also wears a brassiere 26, beneath her slip 24, and it also has shoulder straps 30a and 3%, also secured at their ends to upper marginal portions of the brassiere by stitching or otherwise, and extending upwards and over her shoulders, so as to support the brassiere in the position desired. In Figures 1, 2 and 3, the shoulder straps of the brassiere and slip have been shown as in side by side positions where they extend over the shoulders of the wearer, especially for clarity of illustration, it being understood that they may also be worn in mutually overlying positions as seen in Figure 4, especially where they extend over the shoulders, so that the shoulder straps of the brassiere, at 300, for example, are hidden beneath the shoulder straps 28c of the slip.

The dress shown, has shoulder portions 40 and 42, the outer ends of which cover the upper portions of the arms 36 and 38 of the wearer, and the fabric layer 32 of the shoulder portion of the dress is thus brought into overlying position on the shoulders of the wearer, with the shoulder straps such as 28a and a, of the brassiere and slip directly therebeneath. To avoid having the shoulder straps, such as 28a and 30a, slide or fall off the shoulders, leftwardly as seen in Figure l, I provide means for confining the shoulder straps and holding them in the positions desired and as shown. Such means have upper legs 48 formed of fabric, tape, or other suitable material, disposed under and in contact with the top layer 32 of the fabric of the dress or blouse 10, being secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by means of the stitching 46 penetrating through the layer 32 and the leg 48 of each of the fastening retaining devices 51.. The outer end 56 of the leg 48 may be folded over upon itself as at 54, the stitches 46 penetrating it also, and a female snap fastener element 60 may be secured to the underside thereof by suitable means such as threads 58 extending through openings formed in the element 60 and into the flap portion 56. The retainers 51 also have another leg 52 which is integrated with leg 48 by means of the web 50, so that the leg 52 may extend along below leg 48 in the manner shown. The outer portion 61 of lower leg 52 may be folded over as shown best in Figure 2, on fold line 64, and secured to the abutting portion of leg 52 by means of stitches 70 or the like, and it is seen from Figure 2, that a male snap fastener element 68 is secured by stitching or the like to the upper surface of the portion 66 of lower leg 52, in position for snap engagement with the female portion 68, to define an opening or passageway between legs 43 and 52 for the reception of the shoulder straps, as at 2% and 30b when in side by side relation, or as seen in Figures 4 and 5, at 28c and 300 when in overlying relation, the snap fasteners serving to maintain the shoulder straps in confined position while at the same time permitting some play or looseness against binding, if desired. Where the form shown in Figures 4 and 5 is used, that is, the straps are always desired to be in mutually overlying relation where they pass through the retainer 51, then the length of the legs 48 and 52 may be made much shorter, just a little more than the Width of the shoulder straps, to confine them against sidewise movement. It is also seen from Figures 2 and 4, that the folding over of the portion 66 of the lower leg as shown, and the mounting of the male snap fastener element inwardly and spaced from the outer end of the folded portion, provides a flap or tab at 64 or 64a, which may be easily reached and grasped by the fingers as seen in Figure 2, by the wearer, for opening and closing the retainers 51. The construction is such, as apparent, that with the utmost convenience and practicality, the wearer can merely reach her hand or fingers inside her dress on either side of the neck, and open or close the retainers 51, engaging or disengaging the shoulder straps such as 30a and 28a, or Stlb and 28b, or both, from the retainers 51, merely grasping the tabs 64 for this purpose as described. It will be understood that for purposes of illustration only, the thickness of the retainers 51 has been somewhat exaggerated in the drawings, and that actually they will be quite thin and inconspicuous and have practically no bulk at all. That is to say, there will be little if any additional spacing between the dress fabric 32 and the shoulders of the wearer, this also being somewhat exaggerated in Figure 1 for illustrative purposes only.

Referring now to Figure 6, it is seen that there is shown a modified form of the invention, in which instead of securing the retainers directly to the dress by stitching, they are engaged with openings formed in the dress. Thus, in Figure 6, there is the dress upper fabric 32d overlying the shoulders of the wearer, with an underfabric layer 32e disposed below layer 32d, and secured in position thereat in any suitable manner, as for example by constituting an inner layer of the dress itself, or if only a small piece of fabric, then being secured to outer fabric layer 32d by stitching or otherwise. In any event, a passageway or space 33s is thus defined between fabric layers 32d and 32e, exaggerated somewhat in thickness or extent for clarity of illustration only, and openings 70 and 72 are formed in layer 32a to receive the upper leg of the modified form 51e of the retainer shown. This retainer leg 80 has a web 78 integrating it with lower leg 76, with female and male snap fastener elements 84 and secured to legs 80 and 76 by means of stitches 82 and 91 as shown, for mutual engagement to close the retainers, to confine the shoulder straps 28a and 30e of the brassiere and slip as seen.

The Figure 6 form of the invention thus has one leg 80 of the retainer Sle inserted through both openings 70 and 72, extending into passage 332 as at 74, to engage the portion 32e of the dress or blouse, and may be easily pulled out of the openings 70 and 72 for removal if desired. It is also seen that the leg 76 of the retainer may have an extension forming a tab 88, and the leg 80 may also have an extension forming a tab 89, either or both of which may be grasped in separating or reengaging the snap fastener elements.

Referring now to Figure 7, there is shown another modified form of the invention, in which there is a further diminution in the bulk of the retainer device and added concealment from outside view. In this form, there is seen the undersurface of the shoulder covering fabric like that shown at 32 in Figure l, but here the usual seam between front and rear panels 32h and 32g of the shoulder covering fabric of the dress are seen to overlap as at 92 and 94 being secured by stitching 96 in overlapping or abutting relation at the marginal seam edges at fold line 98. In this form, instead of having the two legs like 48 and 52 of the device of Figure 2, I dispense with the leg like 48, and instead take a short length of tape 99 and secure one end 100 thereof by stitching 102 directly to the seam flap or margin 94, and for simplicity the stitching 102 may be the same as stitching 104 and 96 which also serves to hold the seam together, if desired.

As also seen in Figure 7, on the outer end portion of tape 99 I secure a flexible base member 106 by any means, stitching or the like, to which in turn is secured by stitching 110, a male snap fastener element 108. Or the snap fastener element 108 may be fastened directly to the outer end of tape leg 99, thus dispensing with the base 106 if desired, where further lessening of bulk is desired. Similarly, I place a base 114 in spaced relation to the portion 100 of leg 99, and secure it by stitches 112 to the seam fiap or margin 94 thereat, the base 114, like base 106 being made of suitable material, cloth, fabric, or plastic. A female snap fastener element 116 is secured to the base 114, by stitching 118 as shown, ready for snap engagement with the male element 108 to form the passageway between leg 99 and the underlying portion of seam flap 94 to receive the shoulder straps like 28a and 30 extending therebetween as needed, the device being easily opened and closed for this purpose as aforesaid. A small tab extension like that shown at 64a in Figure 4 may be added on leg 99 outwardly of snap fastener 108 if desired, in the form of Figure 7, by merely allowing some of leg 99 to extend therebeyond, with a fold as in Figure 4 if desired, to further add convenience in use. The form of Figure 7 is the most inconspicuous of the forms shown, since its bulk is practically absorbed in the seam margins 92 and 94 anyway, and is practically unnoticeable at all.

It is thus apparent that there are shown herein some very useful, versatile and convenient means for securing and holding in position, the shoulder straps of female attire. Although I have described my invention in specific terms, it will be understood that various changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

A blouse, dress and the like comprising at least one shoulder covering panel of flexible fabric, a second panel of flexible underfabric disposed beneath said first shoulder covering panel and defining a restricted first space therebetween, and having first and second apertures formed in said second panel in locations overlying substantially desired locations of the shoulder straps of undergarments worn therebeneath, an elongated tapelike shoulder strap confining means folded intermediate its ends to define first and second legs, said first leg extending in through said first aperture and out through said second aperture, and releasable fastening means on the outer ends of said legs, whereby said shoulder straps are confinable thereby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,444,801 Moore Feb. 13, 1923 1,492,361 Davy Apr. 29, 1924 1,632,424 Stryke June 14, 1927 1,741,628 Heake Dec. 31, 1929 2,121,513 Smith June 21, 1938 2,135,020 Young Nov. 1, 1938 2,299,996 Kremer Oct. 27, 1942 2,418,176 Hillman Apr. 1, 1947 

